The Detroit Lions finally will get a chance to talk to Ken Whisenhunt about their vacant head coaching position today in California.

Lions president Tom Lewand and others flew to San Diego Thursday morning to meet with Whisenhunt, who has emerged as the leading candidate to replace Jim Schwartz as head coach.

Whisenhunt, in his first season as San Diego Chargers offensive coordinator, won a Super Bowl as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers and took the Arizona Cardinals to another one as head coach following the 2008 season.

He can't be hired until San Diego's season is over — the Chargers play the Denver Broncos in an AFC playoff game Sunday — but many across the league expect him to land one of the four remaining openings in the NFL.

ESPN reported that Whisenhunt will interview with the Tennessee Titans on Friday and Cleveland Browns on Saturday. The Minnesota Vikings also are searching for a coach.

"The only thing I can say about Whiz is what I've seen all year," Chargers backup quarterback Charlie Whitehurst told the Free Press last week. "He is a heck of a leader, commanding presence, he can push guys. We've played hard for him and, offensively, I think he's a heck of an offensive mind."

The Lions have focused on candidates with experience and offensive pedigrees during their coaching search, and Whisenhunt meets both requirements.

He played nine seasons as a tight end with the Atlanta Falcons, New York Jets and Washington Redskins, where he was a teammate of Lions general manager Martin Mayhew. He went 45-51 in six seasons as Cardinals head coach, and had success with quarterbacks Ben Roethlisberger, Kurt Warner and Philip Rivers.

Rivers completed a career-best 69.5% of his passes this season, and the Chargers finished with the league's fifth-best offense.